As of January 1, 2019, we have closed our forums. This is a decision we did not come to lightly, but it is necessary. The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk. The server software itself must be updated, and it cannot be without removing the forums.
So it is with a heavy heart that we say goodbye to our long-running forums. They came online in 2000 and brought together so many wonderful Disney fans. We had friendships form, careers launch, couples marry, children born ... all because of this amazing community.
Thank you to each of you who were a part of this community. You made it possible.
And a very special thank you to our Guides (moderators), past and present, who kept our forums a happy place to be. You are the glue that held everything together, and we are forever grateful to you. Thank you aliceinwdw, Caldercup, MrsM, WillCAD, Fortissimo, GingerJ, HiddenMickey, CRCrazy, Eeyoresmom, disneyknut, disneydani, Cam22, chezp, WDWfan, Luvsun, KMB733, rescuesk, OhToodles!, Colexis Mom, lfredsbo, HiddenMickey, DrDolphin, DopeyGirl, duck addict, Disneybine, PixieMichele, Sandra Bostwick, Eeyore Tattoo, DyanKJ130, Suzy Q'Disney, LilMarcieMouse, AllisonG, Belle*, Chrissi, Brant, DawnDenise, Crystalloubear, Disneymom9092, FanOfMickey, Goofy4Goofy, GoofyMom, Home4us123, iamgrumpy, ilovedisney247, Jennifer2003, Jenny Pooh, KrisLuvsDisney, Ladyt, Laughaholic88, LauraBelle Hime, Lilianna, LizardCop, Loobyoxlip, lukeandbrooksmom, marisag, michnash, MickeyMAC, OffKilter_Lynn, PamelaK, Poor_Eeyore, ripkensnana, RobDVC, SHEANA1226, Shell of the South, snoozin, Statelady01, Tara O'Hara, tigger22, Tink and Co., Tinkerbelz, WDWJAMBA, wdwlovers, Wendyismyname, whoSEZ, WildforWD, and WvuGrrrl. You made the magic.
We want to personally thank Sara Varney, who coordinated our community for many years (among so many other things she did for us), and Cheryl Pendry, our Message Board Manager who helped train our Guides, and Ginger Jabour, who helped us with the PassPorter-specific forums and Live! Guides. Thank you for your time, energy, and enthusiasm. You made it all happen.
There are other changes as well.
Why? Well, the world has changed. And change with it, we must. The lyrics to "We Go On" for IllumiNations say it best:
We go on to the joy and through the tears
We go on to discover new frontiers
Moving on with the current of the years.
We go on
Moving forward now as one
Moving on with a spirit born to run
Ever on with each rising sun.
To a new day, we go on.
It's time to move on and move forward.
PassPorter is a small business, and for many years it supported our family. But the world changed, print books took a backseat to the Internet, and for a long time now it has been unable to make ends meet. We've had to find new ways to support our family, which means new careers and less and less time available to devote to our first baby, PassPorter.
But eventually, we must move on and move forward. It is the right thing to do.
So we are retiring this newsletter, as we simply cannot keep up with it. Many thanks to Mouse Fan Travel who supported it all these years, to All Ears and MousePlanet who helped us with news, to our many article contributors, and -- most importantly -- to Sara Varney who edited our newsletter so wonderfully for years and years.
And we are no longer charging for the Live Guides. If you have a subscription, it's yours to keep for the lifetime of the Live Guides at no additional cost. The Live Guides will stay online, barring server issues and technical problems, for all of 2019.
That said, PassPorter is not going away. Most of the resources will remain online for as long as we can support them, and after that we will find ways to make whatever we can available. PassPorter means a great deal to us, and to many of you, and we will do our best to keep it alive in whatever way we can. Our server costs are high, and they'll need to come out of our pockets, so in the future you can expect some changes so we can bring those costs down.
Thank you, thank you, thank you for your amazing support over the years. Without you, there's no way us little guys could have made something like this happen and given the "big guys" a run for their money. PassPorter was consistently the #3 guidebook after the Unofficial and Official guides, which was really unheard of for such a small company to do. We ROCKED it thanks to you and your support and love!
If you miss us, you can still find some of us online. Sara started a new blog at DisneyParkPrincess.com -- I strongly urge you to visit and get on her mailing list. She IS the Disney park princess and knows Disney backward and forward. And I am blogging as well at JenniferMaker.com, which is a little craft blog I started a couple of years ago to make ends meet. You can see and hear me in my craft show at https://www.youtube.com/c/jennifermaker . Many PassPorter readers and fans are on Facebook, in groups they formed like the PassPorter Trip Reports and PassPorter Crafting Challenge (if you join, just let them know you read about it in the newsletter). And some of our most devoted community members started a forum of their own at Pixie Dust Lane and all are invited over.
So we encourage you to stay in touch with us and your fellow community members wherever works best for you!
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Another great day! You got a lot of rides in, it doesn't seem to be as crowded as it was the day before Aladdin looks like an awesome show, that's one of my favorite Disney movies, so I hope that I can get out there to see it someday
My goodness, you certainly packed a lot in! Good for those Cast Members at Aladdin, standing their ground like that. I bet that takes a bit of courage at times...
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You're really covering a lot of ground at DCA! I enjoyed that park so much more than I expected to. I agree with Justin that the Disney version of Hollywood is much nicer than the real thing!
Oh man, don't get me started about line jumpers. It is crazy. And what do all us normal, polite people do? Nothing. We just let them do it. I have taken to telling people where the end of the line is and mostly the people in line with me will then thank me. Disney is a little easier because of the cast members and the fact that there are railings in the queues. But at local fairs and carnivals it is craycray! I honestly don't know what I would do if someone "fought" back as I'm not about to get into a throw down. I think if someone calls them out on it they know they are wrong. But still sometimes they just ignore you and other times they pull the "I don't speak English routine"
So annoying like your time is more valuable than mine. My sister and I have an expression..."rules don't apply to a**holes" so when you see someone not following the rules simply think to yourself Oh they must be an a**hole.
Another great day! You got a lot of rides in, it doesn't seem to be as crowded as it was the day before Aladdin looks like an awesome show, that's one of my favorite Disney movies, so I hope that I can get out there to see it someday
You would love the love Aladdin show, it was very funny.
Quote:
Originally Posted by MayraLR
You guys have done a lot! What a difference it makes to get there early and take advantage of the early entry.
Early entry made a huge difference in how our day went. We were able to get so much more done today!
Quote:
Originally Posted by chezp
My goodness, you certainly packed a lot in! Good for those Cast Members at Aladdin, standing their ground like that. I bet that takes a bit of courage at times...
I was very impressed with how the Cast Members handled the situation. They made several announcements over an intercom system that if someone from your party was not with you, they will not be able to join you. I was amazed to see how many people still tried to finagle their way into line.
Quote:
Originally Posted by dutchdisneyfamily
California Adventure looks like so much fun! You got quite a bit done!
California Adventure was so much fun! It was my favorite day of our vacation.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Russi01
You guys did get a lot of stuff in. The area looks like it handed the crowds better and good job on take advantage of the early entry!!
The crowds were so much better at California Adventure. Judging by the wait times, I don't think there was necessarily less people than the day before, I just think the park had a better flow of traffic than DL.
Quote:
Originally Posted by OhToodles!
It sounded like you were doing really good and then when you mentioned stopping for lunch I knew you did good!
Entering the park at 7 am made a HUGE difference in how much we got done before lunch.
Quote:
Originally Posted by lauriep
You're really covering a lot of ground at DCA! I enjoyed that park so much more than I expected to. I agree with Justin that the Disney version of Hollywood is much nicer than the real thing!
I felt the same way as you, Laurie. I enjoyed DCA more than I expected and this ended up as my favorite day of our vacation.
Quote:
Originally Posted by lfredsbo
Sounds like a great trip so far despite the crowds, stuck arm and hack of safety education with the CM.
Funny thing, we saw Frozen on 12/30 too.....my birthday
It ended up a great trip, even with the stuck arm!
Quote:
Originally Posted by mommapants
Oh man, don't get me started about line jumpers. It is crazy. And what do all us normal, polite people do? Nothing. We just let them do it. I have taken to telling people where the end of the line is and mostly the people in line with me will then thank me. Disney is a little easier because of the cast members and the fact that there are railings in the queues. But at local fairs and carnivals it is craycray! I honestly don't know what I would do if someone "fought" back as I'm not about to get into a throw down. I think if someone calls them out on it they know they are wrong. But still sometimes they just ignore you and other times they pull the "I don't speak English routine"
So annoying like your time is more valuable than mine. My sister and I have an expression..."rules don't apply to a**holes" so when you see someone not following the rules simply think to yourself Oh they must be an a**hole.
We never said anything to anyone, but we witnessed other people trying to stop line jumpers and they just got ignored. It really was ridiculous.
I loved Aladdin!! Wish they would bring it to WDW.
Line Jumpers drive me nuts, They must also be the drivers that try to cut in front of you and an exit off the highway.
I loved Aladdin!! Wish they would bring it to WDW.
Line Jumpers drive me nuts, They must also be the drivers that try to cut in front of you and an exit off the highway.
Quote:
Originally Posted by chezp
Oh me too! I was so happy when it was added on to the shows on the Fantasy, as I think it deserves a lot more exposure to Disney audiences.
We made our way through Downtown Disney and back to the hotel. I really enjoyed how compact Disneyland Resort is and not having to worry about taking a bus or driving.
When we got to our resort it became a bit more clear why Lexi didn't want to ride ToT. When we passed the pool she asked if she could go swimming. That little stink, I think that was her plan the whole time. Since we would be leaving tomorrow I had Justin take Lexi to the pool while I rearranged our luggage and started packing. This has become our last full day Disney routine. Justin will take Lexi swimming while I organize and pack. It really works for us as it gets them out of my hair and I don't have to worry about packing that night after the park.
It was not swim weather. It barely reached the 70s today, but my little fish didn't care. She swam for about an hour while Justin sat by the pool and had a drink. Justin said it was actually nice and peaceful. I asked Justin to get some pictures of the pool, but he got one photo of the monorail slide and the rest were pictures of Lexi swimming.
Lexi finally decided she was getting cold so they returned to the room to freshen up so we could head back to DCA for our dinner at Ariel's Grotto. Justin called Brian to see what they were up to and they were back at their resort resting and said they would meet us at AG for dinner. We set off and decided to watch Muppet Vision 3D as we still had a bit of time before our reservation.
After Muppets we stopped for a restroom break and Lexi decided she wanted her picture taken on a random set of stairs.
Pluto was out for a greet, so we stopped for our one and only character meet while in the parks this entire trip. We did meet a few more characters the next day at breakfast, but we really slacked in the character department this trip. Every time we meet Pluto Lexi gets a kick out of how he puts her autograph book on his nose when he signs it.
We started to make our way to AG for dinner, but when we passed the gift shop where Justin bought his sweatshirt earlier in the day Lexi requested another detour to pick out her own sweatshirt. We still had a bit of time so we headed in to browse. Lexi found the cutest little Minnie Mouse sweatshirt so we got in line to make her purchase. We got stuck behind a couple of ladies that were causing issues at the register, so another CM came over to help us. He was very sweet with Lexi and gave her an Honorary Citizen of Disneyland pin.
Lexi's new pin.
Finally we were on our way to AG. Brian and Whitney were already there, so I headed in to check in. I was given a buzzer and told it would be a 15 minute wait. While we waited we saw several people walk up trying to get a table, but they were all turned away.
We were seated inside, which was okay with me as it was getting cold out and when we were led to a circle booth Lexi was thrilled as she loves those! Lexi was given a Little Mermaid menu with activities and that entertained both Lexi and Whitney during dinner.
Our waiter was very nice, but we didn't see him much. He took our order and brought us the check and that's about it. He had an assistant that we saw for most of the meal and she was fantastic.
I started the meal with a salad and Justin had the crab chowder.
My salad was good, but after a bite of Justin's chowder I wished I had ordered that instead, it was delicious.
Lexi's veggies and dip.
For our entree, Justin and I both ordered the Grilled Lobster and Red Oak Smoked Honey-Whiskey Barbeque Tri-Tip with mashed potatoes and seasoned vegetables. I wasn't a fan of the barbeque sauce, but at least the tri-tip was tender. The lobster was very delicious, I could have just ordered that and been happy.
Lexi ordered the kid's chicken nuggets and I thought the little colander that held her nuggets was so cute.
I almost forgot, they served bread with our meal.
Last we were served a dessert sampler. Justin and I had a plate to share and Brian and Whitney had a plate to share. We were all so full one plate would have been enough.
Lexi got her own plate of dessert as well. It was adorable with a cupcake, a cookie and strawberry milk.
When we settled the bill our waiter brought us 5 vouchers for WoC, they looked a lot like a paper FP. We would need to turn these in to a CM in order to get into the reserved viewing area. As we were walking out I snapped a quick picture of the Christmas tree in the lobby. I didn't realize Mickey's Fun Wheel was in the background until I loaded the pictures onto my computer.
We had a couple of hours before the 9:00 showing of World of Color Winter Dreams, so we decided to check out A Bug's Land. This area was just perfect for Lexi. It is definitely geared towards younger children. It was pretty dead in this area, so Lexi was able to run from ride to ride without much of a wait. She had an absolute blast.
This ride was a bit like the teacups. The ladybugs spun around in a circle.
Flik's Flyers was a bit like Dumbo or Tricera Top Spin.
Tuck and Roll's Drive Em Buggies was Lexi's favorite ride at A Bug's Land and she rode it several times. It was just like bumper cars.
A quick shot of ToT at night I got from A Bug's Land.
While A Bug's Land wouldn't be my choice of fun for rides, watching the pure joy on Lexi's face made me just fall in love with this area.
We finally had to drag Lexi away because I wanted to check out Cars Land at night. The first thing we did was ride Mater's Junkyard Jamboree. This ride doesn't look like much, but it was so much fun! I laughed through the entire ride.
The back of our tractor.
Brian and Whitney
We didn't ride anything else at Cars Land, we just wandered around taking pictures. I loved Cars Land at night just as much as I loved it during the day. It looked so neat all lit up.
It was now time to head back to Paradise Pier for World of Color. They had the reserved sections roped off and a CM standing at each entrance. At first we got in a long line to turn in our vouchers when Justin realized it was the FP line and we needed to go up a bit farther to a different line for the dinner package. There was no line here and we handed over our vouchers and found spots right up front near the water. There was a warning that you would get wet if you stood here, but the family next to us had experienced WoC before and they assured us it was just a mist, and they were right.
Our view.
I did not take any photos during WoC as I just enjoyed the show and it was fantastic! This was the Winter Dreams version and since I have not seen the 'regular' version of WoC I cannot compare the two. Our host for the evening was Olaf and the show featured Frozen and Toy Story. My favorite part of the show was the Toy Story version of the Nutcracker.
Lexi was very restless during WoC and Justin ended up holding her most of the time, so when it was over we decided to head back to our room. Brian and Whitney ended up staying until closing.
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Aladdin looks like an awesome show, that's one of my favorite Disney movies, so I hope that I can get out there to see it someday 
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Pixie Dust
PassPorter Guide Author
Deb
Disney Magic - Oct 2015
arm and hack of safety education with the CM. 
Holly: 
I was so happy when it was added on to the shows on the Fantasy, as I think it deserves a lot more exposure to Disney audiences.
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